According to producer Patrice Ledoux, director Luc Besson planned "Léon" as a filler. At the time, he had already started working on "The Fifth Element (1997)", but production was delayed due to Bruce Willis's schedule. Rather than dismiss the production team and lose his creative momentum, Besson wrote "Léon". It took him only 30 days to write the script, and the shoot lasted only 90 days. Ironically, "Léon" is now generally considered to be a far superior film to "The Fifth Element".
First previewed HERE, I finally have the product in hand ;]
Not the best head sculpt of Jean Reno as Léon but you can tell who it's supposed to be. According to Luc Besson, the role of Léon was always intended for Jean Reno and no one else. Apparently, both Mel Gibson and Keanu Reeves were extremely interested in the role.
Jean Reno decided to play Léon as if he were a little mentally slow and emotionally repressed. He felt that this would make audiences relax and realize that he wasn't someone who would take advantage of a vulnerable young girl (Natalie Portman in her motion picture debut).
I don't like the older type 1/6 bodies with the oversized chest and big shoulders. Not everybody is supposed to look like a WWE wrestler or Arnold wannabe and some characters should look more athletic. I think Léon was such a character so the 1/6 body seems wrong to me. At least now we have the Hot Toys True Type Figure with Narrow Shoulders for such a purpose.
Léon wore either white or black sweaters with suspenders in the film when he wasn't out "cleaning". No 1/6 suspenders here.
Mathilda (Natalie Portman): Leon, what exactly do you do for a living?
Léon (Jean Reno): Cleaner.
Mathilda: You mean you're a hit man?
Léon: Yeah.
Mathilda: Cool.
And here's 1:6 Léon (Heroic "Perfection Killer"), wearing his unique vest for his cleaning jobs
The shades do help define the character
Finally a 1:6 manufacturer who can give us one of the holy grails of 1:6 movie collectibles. A similar vest was produced by BBI for their "Lucifer, Sniper Assassin" 12-inch figure (see pictures HERE) but there's nothing like an exact copy of the one used in the film.
The black rubber rings connecting the vest to the belt are quite authentic but the holster for his pistol is missing. In place is a leather sheath for his knife.
Léon carries a knife for when he needs to get really close to the client without making a noise, as seen when he puts a knife to the Fatman's throat after dispatching all his bodyguards.
1:6 bolt cutter, for cutting chains, padlocks, bolts and wire mesh. Shotguns are too loud and messy and lock picks just take up too much time.
Comfortable shoes are a must!
The pistols that Léon use in the film are Beretta 92FS's with AL-GI-MEC compensators added on. In some scenes, he affixes them with sound suppressor, with threads that extend past the compensator cuts to cancel out the escaping gases that could potentially escape and produce a loud gunshot. In the final firefight, one of Léon's Berettas is seen with a stainless or "Inox" frame.
Next post will see Léon in his long wool coat and other accessories
